Was Lil Wayne packing heat?
That's the question facing jurors at "The Block Is Hot" rapper's trial on gun charges in Manhattan Monday.
Terry Bourgeois, Lil Wayne's assistant, testified he saw a handgun "occasionally" on the hip-hopster's tour bus and witnessed various people smoking marijuana, but he could not specifically single out the 26-year-old Wayne for possessing said .40-caliber pistol nor say if one was present when the latter was taken into custody.
Last month, a police officer told jurors she searched the vehicle after detecting the scent of cannabis as it was parked outside New York's Beacon Theatre following a July 2007 concert. She then said she spied the MC attempting to stash the firearm.
Wayne (born Dwayne Michael Carter Jr.) has pleaded not guilty to criminal possession of a weapon and remains free on $70,000 bond. If he's convicted, he could face up to three and a half years in the slammer.
His attorney, Stacey Richman, could not be reached for comment. But she is seeking to have the charges tossed on the grounds that New York's Finest falsified the pot claim in order to conduct a search of the vehicle.
According to Newsday, another eyewitness, 47-year-old Derrick Parker, a security guard hired by the concert promoter who was on the scene that night, testified he did not smell or see any marijuana on our outside the bus.
The legal eagle also pointed out the gun authorities found was registered to Cortez Bryant, whom Bourgeouis identified as Lil Wayne's manager.